


Sora, the Prince's Phantom Warrior

by Chibi_Twan



Series: The Power of Three (One Piece Time Travel SSL) [1]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Branding, Canonical Child Abuse, Fix-It of Sorts, Gen, Headaches & Migraines, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Non-Consensual Body Modification, Not Canon Compliant, PTSD, Panic Attacks, Sanji Is Not A Vinsmoke, Sanji Needs a Hug, Sanji just wants to keep everyone safe, Selectively Mute Sanji, Survivor Guilt, Time Travel Fix-It, Vinsmoke Sanji Needs a Hug, Vinsmoke Sanji-centric, Vinsmoke Sora loves her son, messing with time
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-26
Updated: 2020-08-26
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:01:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,523
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26116870
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chibi_Twan/pseuds/Chibi_Twan
Summary: Vinsmoke Sanji, third son of the Vinsmoke family, and Chef of the StrawHat Pirates. Mistakes were made and as a result many lives were lost in a battle that shouldn't have happened in the first place. Sanji is five years old when he recalls what happens in the years to come.He's five years old when he decides to save his family, not his blood family, but the family that truly mattered. The family that saved him time and time again without even realizing it.He would save his Namakma, no matter what it takes.OrThe start of a journey where Sanji is flung into the past and it's anyting but fun.
Relationships: Mugiwara Kaizoku | Strawhat Pirates & Vinsmoke Sanji, Vinsmoke Sanji & Vinsmoke Sora
Series: The Power of Three (One Piece Time Travel SSL) [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2163822
Comments: 7
Kudos: 97
Collections: Time Travel and World Travel





	Sora, the Prince's Phantom Warrior

The way the workers in the castle treated him was mostly the same, no one gave him any special treatment. To them, he was just Sanji-kun, the third prince and a stupid little kid that would get ill all the time. The doctor kept muttering about how it had to have been a side effect of the poison but Sanji had no idea what he was talking about. Anytime he asked, the conversation topic would change or he would be ordered back to his room to rest. He didn't know at first. When he was born, his headaches would come out of nowhere, preventing him from doing anything more than just laying there and waiting for the pain to end. As a result he was a very fussy baby, crying all the time, often needing medication just to sleep through the night. More often than not, it was because of him being to loud that the other's would often start screaming at him to quiet down. He didn't realize that his headaches weren't something that other children suffered from, he didn't meet his brothers, or his sister until years later, once the headaches finally stopped. In the meantime, he only ever interacted with the staff, the lady, and on a few memorable occasions, his father, who had in no uncertain terms told him that either he would get better or there was no further use for him.

Sanji wasn't happy but he had been content. At the time, content was all he needed.

Sure, he had no one to play with and no one to truly acknowledge him but that was okay. The servants and the guards, they didn't care about him so he saw no real reason to talk to them. The nurses and a few people from the kitchens seemed to care whenever the headaches grew to be too much and he would collapse due to the pain. Only, they were hired to care for him, the moment their jobs were done they all but ran away from him. None of them wanted to get stuck staying for longer than they had to. There was only one person who he would talk to, that showed that they cared for him, and that was enough for him.

it was enough for him even if on some days he couldn't even go talk to them.

While the days seemed to drag on, and blend into each other, there was always one thing he had that he always looked forward to. The days where he got to spend his time with the kind lady from down the hall.

The first time they met had been purely by accident, Sanji was in the middle of running away from the maids attempting to force him into the bath. He flung open the closest door he could reach that hadn't been locked. Stumbling his way inside he slammed the door shut behind him, leaning back into the cool wood, panting to catch his breath. He didn't realize that he wasn't alone in the room until a quiet, soft giggle reached his ears. Alarmed, Sanji had frozen in place, staring at the young woman seated on a hospital bed in growing horror. Not only was he embarrassed at being seen by the young lady in his pajamas, but he was also embarrassed because of his actions. He had barged into someone else's room without knocking, or getting permission. The various tutors sent to his bedroom always lectured him on manners.

Despite hiding from the maids, Sanji turned tail and ran from the room without a second glance back at the lady. The almost wild look in her eyes when she saw him left him feeling as though something was terribly wrong only he didn't know what.

That was the first time that they met one another. 

They met many other times since then, each meeting more memorable and exciting than the last.

He now knew what each day would consist of, he knew what to expect from sun up to sun down, and how to go about it all. He would wake up, meet with the family doctor for his daily checkup, eat breakfast in bed, and if he could manage it then he'd wander down the hall to the doctor's other patient.

The lady was an older woman who Sanji couldn't help but feel the urge to get close to, she always smiled so gently at him. When he was younger, after their first few meetings, he only saw her if her bedroom door was open while he walked past. Sometimes when he was stuck in his own bedroom she would slowly make her way down the hall and just stand in the doorway, watching him. Sometimes they would talk and sometimes they would just enjoy each other's company in silence. As the years went on, she was no longer capable of walking on her own. Some days if he could manage to get out of bed, he would try helping her walk around her room but they can never get far without either her legs giving out or his own.

She was placed on permanent bed rest, and on the days where she was up to having visitors, Sanji made sure to spend time with her.

For a long time he never realized that the only time he ever spoke was when he was with her. He only realized it after the doctor brought it up during one of his weekly physicals. 

He couldn't recall ever seeing someone come to visit her, he didn't want her to be alone. A small part of him was terrified that if he didn't make the effort to go see her then he would truly be alone and being alone was worse than anything. He enjoyed talking with her because she looked at him and she listened. For the first time in his life, he had someone who seemed to enjoy his company. She taught him to read, she held onto him whenever his headaches hit him out of nowhere and she comforted him. He still couldn't understand why she would apologize so profusely whenever his headaches left him too ill to do anything other than sleep, but he loved it when she would hug him and run her fingers through his hair.

She always looked so sad, especially when he was ill, it hurt seeing her like that. He thought that lying to her and trying to make her believe he was better would cheer her up. Only, he didn't know how to lie, and she always saw through him. He stopped trying after he realized it only made her sadder. 

He wanted to see her smile.

He wanted to hear her laugh, to witness a light shining in her eyes as she was filled with happiness and warmth. 

He wanted to make her happy the way she made him happy.

It was for that purpose that he had snuck out of his room and wandered throughout the castle, searching for the kitchen. Whenever the maids brought him pudding it always made him smile. He wanted to bring some to her. Only, he couldn't figure out where he was or how to go about finding the kitchen. There was no one around to ask for directions either. In the end, due to a migraine hitting him out of nowhere, he was found hours later passed out just outside of the doors to the dining hall. Since then, he was forbidden from leaving his room without permission. It took him multiple tries, and multiple failures resulting in… unfortunate visits from soldiers apparently sent by his father to teach him the repercussions of disobedience. It took all that trial and error before he managed to figure out how to get around the guards and keep himself hidden in order to go back to seeing that lady in the other room. One time he was almost positive that the doctor caught him sneaking out but no one ever came to get him out of the lady's room and no one ever lectured him about sneaking out. He must have been mistaken.

She occasionally tried to get him to talk about why he always visited her with more and more bruises, but she would never push him for answers on the topic unless he willingly gave them.

He didn't feel comfortable with telling her how some of the guards would come up to him with the orders from his father to test him in training. He didn't want to tell her how terrified he was to close his eyes in his own bedroom, constantly afraid just who could come inside while his defenses were down. He didn't want to tell her how anytime he made some sort of noise, whether it was breathing too heavily or accidentally humming, it would always result in him getting hit. Sometimes they would take it easy with him, other times they would be frustrated with him or with anything in general, and take their frustration out on him. He wanted to be able to fight back, maybe then during some of these encounters that his father oversaw he wouldn't always look so disappointed afterward, but his body was too weak.

It was because of his own disappointment in both himself and what he couldn't stop from happening that he refrained from telling her the truth. However, he did agree to her demands that if it ever becomes too much then he was to seek her out and stay with her.

It's why he treasured the moments spent with the lady.

She laughed with him.

She taught him how to read, and to write.

She read him stories from the books in her room, and when he grew tired of those she would make up her own stories to fill in the quiet hours of the night.

She would discuss what deserts the chefs would be making for after dinner that night. She would tell him about all the different foods she's eating in her lifetime, how her favorite dish was seafood pasta.

She ate the food he made her even though it definitely was what made her sick later that night.

She told him of the wonders of the world. Answering any-to-all of the questions he had, no matter how sad she looked when he asked her if they could travel the world together.

She loved him, and he loved her.

She was there for him….

Until she wasn't.

* * *

Normally too excitement, a rare occurrence, led to his headaches flaring up, but today was different. Today he ignored any bouts of uncomfortableness moving too much, or going outside of his darkened room caused. Today was different because today was a very special day to him.

Today was his fifth birthday, according to those maids who keep entering his room.

They said it was his, and the other princes' birthday only he wasn't sure what they meant by other princes'. Regardless, he felt a bubble of excitement build up inside of him. Since today was his birthday, did that mean he was going to get a cake? The lady told him that's what happens on a birthday. She mentioned colorful decorations, lots of sweets, and a cake to celebrate. Then, after everyone has eaten, gifts would be given to the birthday boy or girl. When he told her that he never celebrated a birthday before she promised him that they could celebrate his birthday this year together. He wasn't sure when that would be, he didn't know the date of his birthday and resolved himself to find out. He didn't know that it would be so soon though. With a broad grin filled with delight, Sanji slid down the side of his bed and waited for the maids to turn the corner at the other end of the hall before leaving his room.

Today was one of his bad days, and he wasn't supposed to get out of bed, but he had to go see the lady. They were going to celebrate! She promised! Sanji slowly inched his way down the hall, closer to the lady's bedroom. He just had to get inside without anyone else noticing. She wouldn't tell anyone, he'd snuck in there multiple times already and she didn't mention it even once.

For some reason other than those few maids there wasn't anyone else around.

it was odd, usually, he wouldn't be able to walk by himself for more than a couple of seconds before other workers throughout the castle would appear. More and more people have been ordered to keep an eye on him ever since he got caught sleeping outside of the dining hall. No one wanted him wandering around on his own. They all told him it was for his own safety, but he didn't get it. Why wouldn't he be safe on his own in his own home? Standing just outside the lady's bedroom, Sanji reached up and slowly pulled the handle down before pushing the door open.

He froze with one foot hovering in the air.

A strangled whimper slipped past his lips as he saw the pale hand hanging off the side of the bed. It was just… there. Not moving in the slightest.

"Wha-? Hey! Get Sanji-Kun out of here!"

Sanji ducked under the arms reaching for him, running past the doctor's assistant to get to the bed. For some reason, the doctor and a few of the guards moved so that they were surrounding the bed, he couldn't see the lady past their large frames. He wanted to know why they were all in here, did something happen? Was the lady ill again? Why wasn't she saying anything? Why wasn't she moving? For some reason unknown to him, his eyes began to sting as they filled up with tears.

"Get him out!"

Sanji wailed as the doctor lunged toward him, in doing so exposing the lady's motionless form and blank eyes staring off into nothing.

* * *

The lady was gone. She was gone and she wouldn't be coming back. 

After being forcibly removed from the room, instead of being taken back to his own bedroom Sanji found himself before his father. 

"My son… While your mother has passed and I know this is a trying time for your siblings and yourself, we must use this opportunity to strengthen your resolve! She wanted you to grow strong, to become a fine leader of the Germa Kingdom."

Sanji could only stare at him in shock. That lady… she was his mother? 

"Are you listening to me?"

Wordlessly, Sanji shook his head, wincing as his father clicked his tongue at him.

"You are far too attached to the memory of a ghost. She is gone! Do you understand me? You have a duty to this family, you are a Vinsmoke, I will not stand for weakness from one who shares my blood!"

Eyes narrowing into a glare, his father scoffed as Sanji just stood there, gaping at him.

"Get him out of my sight. The boy needs time to forget any lies that damn witch may have told him."

His father barely even spared him a second glance, before telling the guards to take him down to something called a dungeon until dinner time. He fought the entire way, even going as far as to bite the guard carrying him. Other than a smack upside the head, the guards ignored him, carrying him further and further down into the castle. Where they ended up was a barely lit cage. The cage itself was so large that Sanji couldn't see where it ended, instead of seeing walls all he saw was darkness seeping in towards the lone light hanging just outside of the cell. It was terrifying and he didn't want to be down there. He screamed, he screamed and kept on screaming even as the guards threw him into the cage, and started threatening him to get him to be quiet.

The pounding in his head grew even more insistent as the minutes passed on by.

It felt as though despite that one source of light being his only protection from the darkness, it said jabs of pain through his eyes into his head. He had to squeeze his eyes shut with his head tucked down into his knees just to get the pain to ease up a little. Where was the doctor? Why did father send him down there?

Sanji's breathing hitched.

He wanted out, he was dark and creepy down here! Stumbling toward the bars of the cage, Sanji cried out, slamming his fists against the cold metal again and again. He wanted to get out. He needed to get out. He couldn't do this, not again…. Not again? Has he been down here before? 

Sanji fell to his knees, pressing his forehead against the cement flooring.

No. No. He hasn't been down here before, at least not that he can remember. So why does it hurt so much? Why does it feel as though the moment the guards threw him in here it was as though he would never get out again? Why… why did he have an almost uncontrollable urge to see someone in a stupid strawhat break down those doors and free him?

At some point, without him realizing it, he passed out.

By the time he woke up his tiny body was nearly convulsing from the horrible shivers going through him. A fever, far higher than the ones he's had before, caused him to break out in a sweat with the cold basement air wrapping around him. Sanji didn't move from his fetal position on the floor. He didn't even blink, instead, staring blankly ahead as tears rolled down his cheeks. Taking a shuddering deep breath in, Sanji opened his mouth and he screamed. As his memories stirred, they came back to him all at once, surrounding him by all sides, drowning him in their fervor. It hurt. It hurt worse than anything he's ever felt, ever remembered feeling before.

He could smell the blood in the air, thick and heavy, coating the inside of his mouth and running down his chin.

He remembers how the others had screamed for him, their voices the only other sound he could make out— loud and cracking halfway through. They couldn't move, all of them injured more than ever before, he knew that even as he watched them struggle to lift their heads, their horror-filled eyes seeking his own. He knew what was going to happen, he knew before any of them realized it. Both of his legs were useless, the bones shattered beyond repair. He couldn't even feel them anymore. He couldn't dodge that final blow even as the others screamed his name...

It was all his fault, it was because of him, because of his selfishness in wanting to return to the Sunny, that Big Mom formed an alliance with Kaido.

It was because of him that none of his beloved friends were able to live long enough to see their dreams through to the end. That final blow wasn't what killed him. It injured him badly enough that his body stopped responding to his brain entirely. None of his limbs worked anymore. However, his ears were working just fine. 

Before the blood loss killed him, He can do nothing but listen, completely useless, as his friends were killed.

Franky was the first to go. 

Then Usopp and Nami, their cut off screams forever stuck in his head. 

It was only Because of Zoro's yells and Choppers gut wrenching wails that he learned Robin was the next to fall. After that the rest of them all fell, one by one until Sanji was the last one left breathing. None of the Heart Pirates or the others from Wano were left either. X Drake and Law were the last line of defense between Big Mom's children along with Kaido and the Strawhats. Sanji could only assume they were killed as well.

The blood loss didn't kill him right away, most of his wounds were cauterized thanks to some no-name bastard that kept laughing while slicing into him with some sort of heated sword. He was left there in the middle of the battlefield surrounded by the corpses of the people he cared about most for almost an entire day before he succumbed to his injuries. The entire time he kept talking, desperately calling out to the others and as the hours dragged on and he received no responses, he began to respond for them. Sobbing as he tried and failed to make his voice sound like any of theirs, just so that he could pretend that he wasn't entirely alone.

The guards standing outside the door leading down to the basement would later tell their fellow guards about the terrified wail of a little boy trapped in a cell, which it was but also wasn't, it was the terrified wail filled with pure anguish and self-loathing of someone confronted by their guilt, by their grief, the wail of someone mourning for their Nakama. For the family they lost. The family ripped away from them.

It was the beginning of a man trapped in a boy's body, breaking down as he couldn't comprehend what happened. What he caused to happen.

* * *

At some point during the night, or had it been daytime? He couldn't tell, all he had to go by was the darkness of his cell and the lone light just a few feet away. Either way, at some point the guards returned. Sanji didn't move, not even when the one guard, he decided then and there he'd be called shitty-face and the other was shitty-breath, pulled the metal bars up. While shitty-face was holding the bars up out of the way, shitty-breath grabbed Sanji by the waist and carried him out. He was exhausted, drained both physically and mentally. All he wanted to do was sleep and drain a glass or two of water. Based on the throbbing pain in his throat, he must have screamed himself hoarse. However, he knew that even if by some miracle he managed to fall asleep, it would not be peaceful. 

He had a feeling that nightmares were about to become the new normal for him. 

He still wasn't quite sure if all of this was real or not.

If it was… then that meant that everyone… everyone was gone. Dead, all because he was selfish enough to flee from Big Mom. Sure, staying would have resulted in his death but that would've been preferable over everyone else eventually getting killed because of his mistakes. Every time he closed his eyes, even just to blink, all he saw was the last time he looked each of them in the eyes. Whatever this was, a nightmare or a fever induced hallucination, he wanted it to end. Now.

Did he have some sort of mental breakdown? Like those mental illnesses Chopper had so many books on, tucked away in the corner of the infirmary. Was all of this just something his mind conjured up? If so then… why the hell would he think of this? He spent years trying his best to forget everything about the Vinsmokes, and after everything that's happened, why would he imagine himself back here?

Was this his mind's way of trying to atone for causing the deaths of everyone he held dear?

"Oi! What's wrong with him?" Shitty-breath shook him and Sanji had to clamp his hands over his mouth to keep from puking all over the guard.

"Hmm, might be sick. The doc threw a fit when he found out he was left in the dungeons, remember?"

"Then should we stop by the doctor's office and let him look over the brat?"

"H-Hey! He's still a prince, remember?! Don't let him hear you!"

"King Judge belittled his existence, remember? Even went as far as to tell us to keep him down there until the brat gives up."

"I guess… it's a tad disappointing, a Vinsmoke heir that can't even handle a night down there without breaking?"

"Is this kid actually a Vinsmoke though? I've never seen him in training with the others."

"I hear he's been sick, suffering from the poison the late Queen drank."

Sanji blinked. Sick… he couldn't recall ever being sick at this age… he went through training with all the others. That's how his fuckard of a father found out he wasn't superhuman. Right? His mother, she passed away in her sleep the night after he brought her something homemade to eat… none of this was what he remembered happening. Could someone on Kaido's side have had some type of Devil Fruit ability? Is that what's going on, he's under the control of some fucked up hallucination thanks to their Devil Fruit? How long would this last? Minutes? Hours? Days?

He refused to think it could last any longer than that. He needed to wake up. If this was all just because of someone's Devil Fruit then there was a chance that the others didn't actually die, that could have been something that was planted in his brain.

Maybe the Devil Fruit was similar to Pudding's? They could all still be alive, he just had to go find them and keep them safe, after he got out of whatever hell this asshole was putting him through.

Sanji focused on what was happening as he was unceremoniously dropped on the floor.

Annoyed, Sanji glared at shitty-face and shitty-breathe intent on cursing them out only to freeze as he noticed an odd assortment of color in his peripheral. Twisting around, Sanji came face to face with all of his siblings. Any to all noise seemed to grow muffled, despite standing not even a foot away from the guards he could barely hear them speaking with his father. All he could hear was the sound of his heart pounding away as something in his chest tightened. He couldn't breath in. A tingling sensation spread throughout his limbs and Sanji couldn't help the way his body tensed up, eyes darting to the ground as each of his siblings tried to lock eyes with him.

He couldn't do this.

Seeing them, it brought to the surface every moment of torment he suffered through by their hands. The way they had always ganged up on him, mocked his dream… that fiasco on Whole Cake Island may have shown him a possible redeeming side of his siblings but he couldn't just forget everything and move on. Sanji licked at his suddenly dry lips, clearing his throat nervously as it grew harder to breathe. His entire body shook, and without meaning too, the moment shitty-breath and shitty-face stopped blocking the door Sanji took off running. Silently relieved as no one gave chase.

He had to get away, get away and calm himself down.

he barely had a few minutes to himself before his father of all people found him and dragged him back to where the others were waiting.

* * *

He thought since he knew what would happen to him, what they were capable of doing, he could avoid the iron mask. He thought that if he played his cards right, he'd never have to wear that wretched mask ever again. 

He was wrong.

Yonji went and told their father about him sneaking into the kitchen, and how he had been "messing with" the food instead of working on his studies. However, instead of both of them getting in trouble for not doing their studies, since Yonji clearly hadn't been working on the assigned homework, Sanji was the only one to get published.

Pushished, as in, tossed down in the dungeon once again only this time shitty-face was the only one to bring him down. Instead of leaving him in the cell, the asshole pinned him to the floor and wrestled the iron mask onto his head. Feeling the cold iron against his skin and realizing the limitations he had with the mask impairing his vision, Sanji panicked. He had screamed, for hours on end, begging someone, anyone, to let him out. Shrieking each time a bug in the cell came too close, Sanji clawed at the mask, at the slim openings on the front. 

The only reason why he stopped was because of how his fingers began to bleed when his nails got caught in the metal, tearing off as he yanked his hands away, not noticing they had been stuck.

A chef's greatest treasure is their hands.

He couldn't go against Zeff's teaching even if he was desperate to get the mask off of him.

It was cold, heavy and made it difficult to breathe. He couldn't eat or drink anything with the mask on and he hadn't been able to eat a full meal since he began dining with his siblings. Despite having the same food as him, just in slightly bigger portions, his brothers would steal from his plate while Reiju rolled her eyes at them. It annoyed him but he never said a word about it, in fear of invoking his sibling's wrath.

The worst thing about being stuck wearing that mask was how he couldn't sit up or move around without straining his muscles to keep his head held up. The pain only became slightly bearable if he slouched down and would use his hands to keep his head up. The heavy weight always caused his head to hang down despite his best efforts and by the time the mask came off, he always had trouble readjusting to walking without it.

This time was no different than any other time he had to wear the damn thing. 

In fact, while it was the first time they put it on him, it wasn't his first time wearing it and they did it exactly the same way as his first time. Of course, he fought against them, terrified to have it even in the same room as him. Only they didn't care, they didn't care how badly he shook or how he began to hyperventilate as they pinned his arms to his sides and slid that fucking mask onto him.

They didn't care the first time, or any other time that came afterwards.

* * *

it wasn't until month's later that he started to think that maybe this wasn't just some sort of hallucination or illusion created by a Devil Fruit.

T-This couldn't be happening, this shouldn't be happening. Everything had been going so well… not exactly well but everything had been going the way he assumed it would. 

Six months since he was dragged out of that dingy cell and every day was spent going through his father's tests and training with his siblings. Any instance where he failed to meet his father's standards resulted in that fucking mask being brought out to him and put on while most of his siblings cheered in the background. At least, wearing it outside of that cell made the experience somewhat bearable. Though the sweltering heat mixed with exhausting himself while training left him struggled to breathe in through the slots on the mask.

Everything was the same, each day consisting of the usual shit he'd gone through while living with his family. He had to be extra careful not to overstep his place, not to do anything to warrent anyone's ire.

Only, somewhere along the way, something changed.

"No! No!" Sanji cried out, his voice rough and cracking from lack of use, struggling, "Da–Damnit, let me go!"

The guards' arms tightened around him, causing Sanji to wheeze as the air was knocked out of him.

He wasn't sure what happened, one moment he was standing outside in the training area with his siblings and the next moment shitty-breath and shitty-face came stopping over to him with his father standing in between them.

His father started yelling at him, something about wasting the Kingdoms resources on feeding rodents. Shit. He needed to feed his food to someone, to make sure he hadn't lost his touch. He made sure not to do it anywhere near where others were. How did he find out?

But then, Judge didn't stop there. No, his father went on to berate him for lagging behind in training, for showing hesitation when ordered to shoot one of the countless guards ordered to train with them. He yelled at him, scoffing when Sanji tried to quietly explain why showing kindness to the Germa soldiers might benefit them. To him, Sanji was simply too weak. Too human. Judge spat at him, telling him how it was pathetic how after all this time the only reason he spoke was to try and avoid punishment.

He didn't mean to lose his temper, but when he heard the tone that Judge spoke with when comparing Sanji to his mother… he snapped.

He yelled back, he screamed at him for how inhumane he was, how he was trying to turn them all into monsters, how he would only get them all killed one day. Not even the shocked looks on his siblings faces stopped him from ripping Judge a new asshole. It seemed that everyone, his father included, were so shocked to hear him speaking and saying so much at once that none of them tried to stop him.

The lone mistake he made, it slipped out without his meaning to, but he had said how he would never be a Vinsmoke…. Judge was not happy. Not at all. The moment Judge knocked Sanji to the ground and ordered shitty-face to grab him, he realized something was wrong. Sanji fought. He fought the entire way down into the dungeons and he kept on fighting even when the shitty-face guard punched him full force in the stomach.

"Hold him still!" Judge ordered.

The guards pinning him to the cold cement of his cell multiplied. One assigned to each of his limbs while his father stood off to the side, watching them. Sanji struggled, but despite his best attempts to strengthen his body these past few months, he was still just a child. A child who was no match for the strength of four fully grown soldiers of Germa's Kingdom.

"Stop! Father, please! Make them stop!' 

Sanji pleaded, begged, and sobbed. There was no remorse or any emotion to be seen in his father's eyes. Sanji felt his anger bubble towards the surface. How dare he? How dare he?! 

"Get off of me!" Sanji roared, startling them all as he managed to kick two of the guards away from him.

However, it was all for naught. More guards ran into the room, all of them pushing him down and stopping any movements.

"You seem to have forgotten your place boy," Judge stepped toward them, glaring down at Sanji, "You belong to me. To Germa! This-This nonsense of yours stops today. With this, you shall always remember where you belong."

Judge nodded at someone out of his line of vision, Sanji couldn't help the wave of panic that washed over him as someone began to walk towards him. He couldn't get away, the combined weight of all the guards kneeling on him, crushing him, was too much for him to handle.

"Please." Sanji whispered, his eyes darting around the room searching for anyone who would listen.

No one ever listened to him.

No one moved. None of them so much as glanced at him as one guard came over to unbutton his shirt while another carried over a long iron rod. The rod itself was glowing at the top, the metal heated up just enough to burn. To _brand_. 

No matter how much he struggled, no matter how louder he screamed at them, he couldn't get free.

There was an odd sizzling and popping noise with a god-awful stench filling up the room, Sanji's back arched up off the ground as he screamed. He kept on screaming to the point where despite his mouth being open no more noise was coming out. It hurt. Oh god, it hurt so badly—

Sanji gasped, trying and failing to breath in. He couldn't seem to get his lungs to fill with air, his entire body shook as dots danced through his vision. The darkness at the edge of his vision steadily seeping in closer, and closer. He squeezed his eyes shut, before blinking rapidly. He could feel the tears making their way down his face but he couldn't focus on anything. The pain on his chest… it was the worst thing he's ever felt. It wasn't easing up either, if anything it was only getting worse.

His eyes rolled up into the back of his head as the guard yanked the iron away, ripping layers of flesh off at the same time.

Sanji wasn't sure what happened next. 

It felt as though he were on the verge of falling asleep yet at the same time, he was overly aware of everything around him. He felt it when everyone let go of him, he felt it as someone stepped on his outstretched arm rather than stepping over it. It felt it all, and he heard everything. The way Judge ordered the guards all away, and how he snapped for one of them to get the doctor to make sure he didn't die, the mocking stilted laughter of his siblings, the water dripping from elsewhere in the dungeon, and the awkward, raspy breathing coming from his own mouth.

He's never felt anything like this before, nothing he's going through could ever come close to this amount of pain.

Which meant… this, none of this could have been something that his brain thought up. It disproved his theory of being trapped by a Devil Fruit user… so this was real. All of this. Because he didn't believe that this was possible, because he couldn't bring himself to entertain the notion of time travel… he'd been careless. He didn't submit to his family's torture… he assumed this was just a illusion or some sort of drugged hallucination. He messed up. He messed up.

Sanji's stomach lurched, he turned his head to the side just as his launch from earlier made a reappearance.

Gagging, he tried to get his body to turn as well but the pain was just too much for him. His entire body shook from the effort alone, but Sanji kept trying. He couldn't stay in this position. He'd end up choking and dying from his own vomit. If this was real, If everything he remembered had actually happened and he somehow wound up in the past… then he couldn't die here. Not now. Not when his crew was out there, waiting for him. The sob bursting out from his lips startled him, his tears blurring his vision and snot already dripping his nose. Crying while trying his best not to throw up again made breathing harder for him. He could feel the way his throat clogged as bile rose from within.

He needed help, he needed someone to turn him over, but there was no one there. He had no one who would be willing to help him. He was going to die, he was going to die thanks to his own stupidity. He shouldn't have spoken out of turn, he shouldn't have said a word!

"Shhh, you're alright, you're alright."

Sanji startled as someone helped turn his body onto his side, a hand cupping the side of his head and helping tilt his head down as Sanji coughed to clear the vomit from his throat. The voice sounded somewhat familiar, he just couldn't place who it belonged to. Any attempts at turning to see who was in the cell with him was stopped by the person pressing down on his head, keeping him still. At some point, he passed out once more.

* * *

"H-Hi mom," Sanji whispered, gently laying the flowers he picked from the nearby garden down, "I would have come by sooner, but I haven't had the opportunity to get away, and I-I… I was scared..."

Despite the grave itself being attended to by the Gardner as he was ordered to do so by Judge, it was already overrun by weeds. Digging his fingers down into the dirt, Sanji began plucking the weeds out by the roots, hoping that by doing so they wouldn't grow back as quickly as they normally would. It also gave him something to do while he waited for the slight pain in his throat to ease up. Screaming for as long and as loudly as he did... It really messed up his voice. After waking up days later in the infirmatory, he couldn't bring himself to speak. Not even to defend himself when his father paid him a visit and had dismissed him as a-a _broken weapon_. As the small pile of grass, weeds and the occasional clump of dirt grew, so did the heavy feeling laying over him. Once his mother's grave was fully uncovered, Sanji brushed the remaining flecks of dirt off the headstone.

"I'm sorry… I'm sorry I didn't remember sooner, if I did… if I remembered earlier then maybe I could have found a way to save you. We could have sailed out to Drum island. I know a really good doctor out there, even if she is a scary witch. I don't think Chopper is old enough to be there just yet..." Sanji frowned, hugging his knees to his chest, "I know what you did. How you tried to save us, how you tried to help us keep our freedom… I'm sorry. I'm so-so sorry. Your life… you shouldn't have had to do that to yourself! I'm sorry, I'm s-sorry, but thank you. Thank you for giving birth to me, thank you for giving me the opportunity to know what it felt like to be free. I'm sorry that I was the only one you could save, I promise you-I promise I won't let you down. Do you remember the story? About the warrior Sora? You smiled, Everytime Sora fought against Germa… you smiled and said that fighting for what's right, for what someone believes in… you said it was the best motivation."

Sniffling, Sanji gently picked up the flowers he had picked, slowly twisting the stems and intertwining them. 

"I have people I want to protect. People I need to protect… I'll do anything to keep them safe, I'm sorry. I'm sorry because I know that in order to keep them all alive, I might have to become the monster you saved me from being born as."

Squeezing his eyes shut, Sanji kneeled before the grave, pressing his head down into the dirt as his eyes swelled with years.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry, mom. I'm so sorry!" Sanji cried, "I'm sorry that I can't be the son you wanted me to be. Please forgive me, but I can't let things go the same way."

His hand came up to clench at the fabric of his shirt, the section covering up his mark. Covering the horrendous mark of Germa's 66 icon seared into his flesh. Two and a half years… that's how much time had passed since his father-no, since Judge had branded him. Branded him like some sort of slave. While he may not have been sold into the Vinsmoke family, but born into it, a slave was exactly how he was treated. Not just by his father, but by members of the Germa Kingdom's army and his siblings as well. No one acknowledged him as a Vinsmoke anymore.

Funny how getting one of his wishes granted left him with an even worse childhood than before.

Without meaning to, he had already changed his future. While he had been in denial and under the allusion that none of this was real, he had sealed his own fate.

He had been cocky, convinced everything was just an illusion or hallucination created by his own mind. He stepped out of line, time and time again. Not once showing Judge the fearful respect, the intense desire to belong as he had the first time around. It had angered Judge badly enough for him to make the decision to find another way to bind Sanji to the Kingdom. Another way to force him to live with a constant reminder of his roots.

Raising his trembling hands, Sanji reached out with his still too small, too foreign body to grasp the sides of the headstone in a mimicry of a hug, "... I'm not going to be able to see you after today. I- time ran out, staying here… I can't do it anymore. I have to keep some things the same so that I can meet them all again. I'm leaving, but I… please don't think I'm a horrible son. I just… I have to go. I have to keep moving forward. No matter what, I'm going to save them."

Softly murdering, "I love you… if you can hear me… please, watch over your other children. I-I tried. I tried to get them to feel, to become more human-! I tried to be a good brother to them, I tried despite everything they put me through… I still love them, and I know you loved them too… watch over them. Please. Please. I-I'm sorry… I have to go now. I'm sorry."

He left a little while ago but after realizing there wasn't anything he could do but wait for time to catch up with him, he returned.

When he made the decision to leave he hesitated. Debated whether or not to try and find Law or one of the others he knew were currently living in North Blue. He wanted to find some way to keep Law from getting trapped in the Doflamingo family. He left home a few weeks earlier than his first time around, he spent those few weeks searching North Blue. He tried finding Law and even a few members of his crew, but for some reason he couldn't find anyone. Not even X Drake. In the end, he couldn't do anything. Escaping from Germa took a lot longer than he could recall it taking him the previous time. It was possibly because he left on his own without the help from Reiju and he made sure to avoid running into his father. However, it was almost too easy sneaking back into the castle.

For that entire time he was gone, nobody noticed he was missing.

Snatching his small sack that lay neglected since arriving at the grave, Sanji hefted it up, over his shoulder before turning and bolting away. They were docked at some island, he couldn't remember the exact name nor could he remember why they stopped there, but what he did remember was that today was the day he escaped. Today was the day he snuck aboard The Orbit.

This time was different. This time, he was leaving on his own.

He couldn't afford to risk getting out on the possibility of Reiju still having some shred of sympathy toward him. He made sure to behave these past few weeks, doing everything he could to avoid getting himself locked up down in the dungeon again. 

It was easy to do since none of them knew about him having consumed the Suke Suke no Mi… he still wasn't entirely sure how to feel about that. He could remember the night he ate the damn thing as though it happened just moments ago.

_When he first saw the doctor standing outside his cell he had scrambled backwards, immediately moving to the other side to sell and keeping as much distance between them as possible._

_"Sanji-kun, please, I assure you I mean you no harm."_

_Sanji stayed still, none of the guards came down with the doctor so that means that the doctor wasn't here on his father's orders. A small part of him was relieved that he didn't have to deal with shitty-face or shitty-breath but he couldn't figure out why the doctor would come see him. He wasn't too badly injured. Sure the guards hit him a few times shit they only ever got the doctor if they thought he was too badly injured to be left alone. His… burn was on the mend as well._

_He watched in silence as the doctor unlocked his cell and quietly shuffled inside. He was holding some sort of box in his arms and was constantly looking over his shoulder. At the moment the doctor looked more paranoid than he had ever seen him before._

_It didn't matter what the doctor said to him, Sanji couldn't bring himself to relax. Did his father send the doctor down here? If so, why?_

_But then the doctor set the box down between them and pulled the lid off. Sanji's eyes widened in shock as he took in the sight of the devil fruit sitting at the bottom of the box. The Suke Suke no Mi… this shouldn't be possible, isn't that bastard Absolem the user of this Devil fruit? Why is it here? Wh-Why was the doctor holding it out toward him?_

_"You need to take it!" The doctor hissed, shit- Sanji couldn't remember what the doctor's name was but he had the strongest desire come over him to shout at the doctor and called him a dumbass, "Come over here and let me take that fuc-forsaken helmet off of you."_

_Warily, Sanji shuffled forward, still unsure if any of this was actually happening. His exhaustion made moving over to the front of his cell harder than it's ever been and Sanji almost fell a few times before finally leaning back against the freezing metal bars._

_It was only once the doctor unlocked the helmet that Sanji spoke, "...Why?"_

_The doctor startled back, staring at Sanji with wide eyes. It took him a couple of minutes to process what Sanji said._

_"Wh-Why what?"_

_"Why do you… have that?" Sanji choked out, his voice a mere whisper, turning his head to the side as a coughing fit overtook him._

_"Your f-The King, wishes to find Devil Fruits for each of your siblings. He believes it can help build his… army." The doctor sighed, "We were all ordered to keep an eye out for the fruits during our travels, should we come across any we are to bring it to him immediately."_

_Sanji's brow furrowed, "Then why here? Why did you bring it… to me?"_

_it seemed as though each time Sanji opened his mouth the doctor looked more and more as though he was witnessing a miracle. Sanji couldn't understand what prompted that sort of reaction._

_"I-I…" There was no better word to describe the way the doctor folded in on himself, with his head hanging low than as a man who's world seemed to crumble before him, "I choose to remain ignorant about many things ever since my life with Germa-66 began… there are many things in my life that I have come to regret, however, my biggest regret is failing you. The day you were born I promised your mother that I would look after you. It is a doctor's duty to keep their patients safe… I did not keep you safe. Far from it. I stood idly by while yo— while you suffered. Please, take this fruit, I've looked further into it and spent the past few months searching for it. With this you can escape. You can run away from here, far away and never worry about your family hurting you ever again."_

Yes, it was the Devil Fruit that he used to always dream about having, and it did give him an advantage over both his father and his siblings, but he had no way of knowing how eating it had changed his future. Did he just ruin the shithead Abosolems future? What about Lola? Did taking that guys Devil Fruit change everything that was supposed to happen at Thriller Bark? What about Brook? Did he still lose his shadow or was it too early in time for that? Consuming a Devil Fruit… it meant he lost his ability to swim. When the others go overboard, he won't be able to dive in after them. He won't be able to save them. He'll have to depend on the others to help each other. 

The amount of times he spent in and out of that dungeon over the past three years, ever since his mother's passing, rivalled that of the days spent holed up in his bedroom on the doctor's orders. While he knew what to expect of his father, he still found himself surprised time and time again when Judge belittled his existence, knocked him down any time he tried to prove himself to him. Sanji knew that trying to gain his blood families approval was a meaningless task, he knew what the outcome would be, and yet he couldn't stop himself from trying anyway. He couldn't stop himself from wanting to save them from themselves.

He'd taken everything and anything they'd thrown at him.

The beatings, the petty starvation tactics, the endless torment as the gap between his siblings and himself continued to grow, and the mental torture of essentially having to live through all of this for a second time. It was hell, but he could take it. It wasn't as though this sort of lifestyle was unwarranted, he kept aggravating them. He should have known better by now and yet he couldn't bring himself to bend to his father's will.

Not when he knew what was waiting for him, out there on the open sea. He knew better than to let himself get attached to any of his blood family but despite knowing better he couldn't help himself.

They were still his family, no matter how much he hates them. It was all worth it if by doing all of this he would be able to see his precious Namakma again. If he could save them, all of them, and give them the happiness they deserve, then he'd gladly suffer everyday. It was what he deserved for what he put them all through. He was the one who unknowingly led them to their deaths, he was the one who stopped them from achieving their dreams. 

He knew he had time to prepare, to train. Only, three years had already passed on by so quickly.

He trained, everyday without fail.

Even as his body screamed at him to rest, Sanji pushed himself harder and harder each day. Training from sun up to sun down, aiming to get his strength built up to that of his future self as soon as possible. While that was slow going, a few days after… after the incident, his Observational Haki made a reappearance. It startled him how rusty he was. While this body was new to the way Observational Haki worked, his mind could remember how advanced the ability was compared to now. It was from one's spirit that Haki came about, not their physical body. The strength of his Observational Haki remained the same, but his body wasn't used to following the instincts that came with listening to the warnings his Haki provided him.

He needed to keep training, he needed to be better.

Better than before, and he needed to continue to train his body and his resolve enough to strengthen his Armament Haki. He will get stronger, strong enough to protect everyone.

He thought he was ready but nothing could prepare him for seeing everyone bustling around The Orbit when in his mind they had all died long ago. A part of him wasn't sure if this was the right choice, he didn't really know what to do. He hasn't changed a lot but he has changed a few things without even meaning to. It was still undecided whether or not he wanted to try and change everything or if he should let a few things play out how they did the first time around. It was with a heavy heart that he quickly set sail and hitched a ride with a couple of random ships in order to get to the right place before the Orbit would set sail.

He never realized how badly he missed them until he found himself surrounded by them on a constant basis. The night the old geezers crew attacked the Orbit was a night he would never forget. The majority of the Orbits' crew were killed in the storm, but he never forgot how a few crew members have been killed in the fight between them and old man Zeff's crew. He never realized how badly he missed them until now. He always avoided having to think about them, never wanting to address how close he came to dying by Zeff's hands that night. 

No one ever asked about it either… they only knew about him nearly starving to death on that damn rock, no one asked what happened before all that.

Regardless of what came his way, Sanji was ready.


End file.
